The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) have announced Specsavers as the new title sponsor of the County Championship in a four-year deal.

The eye-wear chain has been ECB’s Official Optometry and Hearing partner, and Principal Partner of the Association of Cricket Officials (ACO), since 2014. The company’s brand already appears on all umpires clothing

“We’re very pleased to have agreed a four-year deal with Specsavers after holding discussions with several interested parties about this sponsorship package,” said ECB Commercial Director Sanjay Patel. “The County Championship continues to enjoy a strong following and the competition’s geographical spread across 18 different counties will help Specsavers gain wider brand exposure at both regional and national level. Our commercial family continues to expand and today’s announcement highlights once again that cricket is an attractive property to a wide range of different brands and businesses.”

Specsavers Marketing Director Richard Holmes said: ‘“This sponsorship builds on our existing sporting pledge to help the experts to see. We’re delighted with the levels of exposure we have achieved through our existing relationship with umpires and this is a great way for us to reach out to an even bigger audience of cricket fans nationwide and be a part of one of the game’s most famous and best-loved competitions.”